yapped

Yapped is the past tense and past participle of yap, an informal verb with two closely related meanings. Its original and still familiar sense is to bark in short, sharp sounds: a small dog may yapped at a stranger. By the later twentieth century, yapped was also used for talking rapidly and persistently, usually with the suggestion that the speaker is noisy, excited, or irritating. The second sense is especially common in conversational and informal writing, and it can be mildly disparaging. Even when no animal is involved, the verb's sharp, abrupt sound gives it an energetic quality. For example, someone might complain that a colleague “yapped on” about the proposal for several minutes. Because yapped belongs to the relatively small vocabulary of imitative English verbs, it is useful both when reporting a dog's abrupt barking and when describing quick, repetitive, conspicuous speech.

To bark in short, sharp or repeated sounds. By extension, to talk rapidly and persistently, often in a noisy or irritating manner.

Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.

Where does yapped come from?

Yapped comes from an English imitative verb of the early 17th century that was formed to represent the sharp sound of barking. The verb was later extended from dogs' abrupt barks to rapid, persistent human speech. It belongs to the same imitative family as yap, with related forms including yapper and yappy.

Related word forms

How yapped is actually used

The barking sense is generally neutral, while the speech sense is informal and often mildly disparaging, suggesting noisy, rapid, or tiresome talk.

Easily confused with yapped

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Words and phrases paired with yapped

Rhymes with yapped